


We're Not So Different, You and I

by Ragingstillness



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha Jane Foster, Alpha Pepper Potts, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha Thor (Marvel), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Beta Bruce Banner, Beta Natasha Romanov, Feels, Gratuitous nudity, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Multi, Not super friendly to other avengers, Omega Clint Barton, Omega Loki (Marvel), Omega Tony Stark, Tony Feels, fun little au, many thanks to the frostironstrange discord and my good friend Leto, this is explicit for future chapters not the first, yes the title is a reference I was tired and couldn't help it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-05 20:19:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19047667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ragingstillness/pseuds/Ragingstillness
Summary: Loki enters Avengers Tower with a plan, he does not leave with the same one.





	We're Not So Different, You and I

Loki’s boots crunched on the shattered glass of an upstairs window. He’d determined with a simple spell that there was currently a single heat signature in Avengers Tower. Whoever it was, Loki was confident in his ability to subdue them excepting the beast, but his intel placed the beast’s vessel several states over at a gamma radiation conference.

Loki had waited for this moment for several hours. At least one of them was spent thinking over whether he felt guilty for what he was about to do. He had pulled the Avengers together, and when it was the six of them, they had defeated him, the Chitauri, and at least made a dent in Thanos’ power. They released him from his torment, ever so temporarily, did he really owe them this retaliation?

Loki knew his magic, freed from Thanos’ clunky influence defeat maybe three Avengers on his best day. Considering his still healing wounds and heat exhaustion, the New York invasion wasn’t exactly his best day. He was still healing now, months after the fact, so it was the safer bet to wait until he could be sure of a one on one fight.

He had his plan worked out in only vague detail. Ideally, he’d kidnap whoever was in the tower, steal some of the Midgardian’s natural magical energy, then return them unscathed and confused. He’d wait for another opportunity and he’d take a different person.

This repetitive pattern would trick the Avengers into believing he had enough power to snatch them up at any given moment. It would make them paranoid, and it would make them sloppy. If he could keep the ruse up long enough, he’d regain enough of his magic that his actions would become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Loki’s scanning spell was coded to represent dynamics as well as heat. The beast’s vessel’s tainted Beta signature had been gone when Loki arrived on a nearby roof. There were four Alpha signatures when Loki arrived; the Captain, that of Loki’s brother, the Winter Soldier, and the Potts woman, briefly. The second Beta signature could only be the Widow.

Two Omega signatures were also present, the Archer and the Iron Man. Loki couldn’t make out exactly who was who and about an hour into Loki’s vigil Stark turned the dynamic blockers on, making it impossible to scry anything but blobs of body heat.

Several heat signatures exited the building; Loki filed away his doubts and summoned up a sandwich to pass the time. Half an hour later the two remaining moved to one room and didn’t change position for a very long time. After two hours, one got up and left, leaving this final signature, the one who would be Loki’s first prize.

With the others far gone there was no reason for subtlety. The Tower’s AI was helpless against Loki’s magic, and it was always fun to cause a little extra destruction.

Loki shook his boots to rid himself of any excess glass shards. He focused again at the space in front of him, looking with his eyes, and then with his nose.

Loki froze. His sensitive nose was flooded with a powerful scent. It was so strong he was surprised he hadn’t noticed it from his nearby perch. In Loki’s defense, jumping 100 feet while projecting an explosion spell took a lot of concentration.

The smell was quickly identified as Omega, and not just ordinary Omega, but Omega in distress. Loki felt a lump grow in his own throat, his hindbrain complaining that one of his own was suffering. He tried to shake it off. _Nooooo,_ Omega brain whined.

Loki straightened up, digging his nails into his fists to focus himself. He took a couple steps forward. The smell only got stronger.

Scraps of ideas, Loki’s plan, fuzzed away in his mind. He tried to hold onto them but the smell was overpowering, turning him from the capable god he was to a blurry-headed creature of instinct. Loki still was aware of the general objectives of his plan, but until he got to the bottom of that smell and made it stop, he would be useless for much else.

Sighing, Loki followed his nose, crossing through a couple of hallways before finally ending up before a door that was slightly ajar. He could see the edge of a bed through the crack and hear small sobs from behind it.

Loki shoved the door open and strode in. The floor was filthy, strewn with scraps of clothing and a couple of small wrappers. The blankets on the bed had been torn partially off and ripped in many places. Curled up on the bare and undoubtedly scratchy mattress, was Stark, naked and covered in love bites, sobbing into his hands.

Loki’s hindbrain reacted immediately to the sight, registering, _Fellow Omega, Distress, Crying, Help!_ Loki grit his teeth. This was Stark. His enemy. The one he came to…to, what did he come to do again?

It didn’t feel right to be fully dressed with Stark so bare so Loki shrugged off his leather jacket and disappeared the majority of the armor, leaving him in a soft cashmere sweater and cotton pants.

He approached the side of the bed where Stark lay, dead to the world around him, sniffling and choking on his own sobs. Loki swept the tower once more with the scrying spell, making sure he and Stark were the only ones on that floor. Following the confirmation, he cast a spell on the level, sealing it to intruders. A small part of Loki’s brain congratulated him on advancing in his plan, but the vast majority was simply happy now that the other Omega was safe.

Loki took a deep, calming breath, and reached for Stark’s hand. The man flinched, thinking Loki was going to pull it away from him, but Loki just curled his fingers over Stark’s scent gland on his inner wrist and rubbed, releasing as many calming and familiar pheromones as he could. Within ten minutes Stark’s body-wracking sobs had turned into small hiccups and he’d uncurled his body from the tight ball, unashamed of his nakedness.

He sat up, legs laid haphazardly in front of him, now holding Loki’s wrist as well, both of them brushing over each other’s scent gland. Stark blinked, then his eyes briefly focused and his scent spiked with fear over who he was faced with.

Loki leant forward quickly to dispel it, lowering his head below Stark’s in submission, nuzzling against Stark’s chest, showing comfort and companionship and comradery. The tension left Stark’s body again and he gave Loki’s hair a short nuzzle. He was clearly still suspicious, but that awful bleary blankness had appeared in his eyes again and he was so desperate for the source of the comforting scent apparently anyone would do.

Loki pulled back a little, his other hand rising to cup Stark’s reddened cheek. “Omega, why do you weep?”

Stark sniffed and rubbed his nose. “It’s nothing. The Alphas, they live busy lives. They do important things.”

Loki whined, low in his throat, beginning to form a horrible idea of why this was happening. “Omega, what did the Alphas do?”

Tony sniffed again, his eyes watering. “Alpha finally did a scene with me. I was so happy. But then I said something that made Alpha mad. He,” Stark choked on the next words. “He left me.”

Loki reared back as if punched. Even in anger, no Alpha was supposed to leave an Omega alone after a scene without aftercare. It just wasn’t done. Asgard had laws punishing derelict Alphas, as did Jotunheim. This Alpha, whoever it was, just left Stark here? For a joke? After what looked like a very intense scene?

Loki felt fury rise within him. Stark smelled Loki’s scent change but he recognized the anger wasn’t directed at him. Loki was grateful for the small mercy as he couldn’t be bothered to explain his anger now. Stark squeezed Loki’s wrist.

“It wasn’t Alpha’s fault. I am often disruptive and inappropriate. I’m not a good Omega. It was a smart choice for Alpha to leave me. I don’t deserve Alpha.”

Loki’s blood boiled. This was a serious drop. Something had to be done, and done soon, or the sensitive Omega would spiral further. A nasty part of him urged him to continue in his plan, or simply let the Omega be, but his instincts were too strong. His instincts and the caring rituals his mother had taught him that still remained in his demeanor even as he rejected the rest of his past.

With a clench of his jaw Loki’s mind was made up. If whatever deadbeat Alpha wouldn’t give Stark the care he needed, Loki would do it for him, and do it better, prove them wrong, because Loki knew how to treat Omegas best.

Loki pulled on Stark’s hand and face, guiding him into his lap, vanishing all of his own clothing as he did so. The moment wasn’t the slightest bit sexual. Stark needed the skin though, the warmth and the contact. Indeed, Stark melted the minute he was in Loki’s lap, both arms slinging themselves around Loki’s back and their legs all tangled up. Loki petted Stark’s sweat-stiff hair, purring as he did so, trying to coax an answering sound out of the other Omega.

He ran his hands up and down Stark’s sides, giving movement and heat back to his cold body. Stark shivered but gave in, burying his face deeper into Loki’s neck.

When he deemed Stark relaxed enough, Loki stood from the bed, Stark still in his arms, and walked to the kitchen. There he used magic to levitate the pillows and blankets from the couches as well as several decadent snacks from the pantry. All these he floated behind him, walking into the bathroom, letting the cushions float into Stark’s bedroom and onto his bed to form a soft wall surrounding a circle of sheet space.

Loki turned the tap on the massive jacuzzi, filling the tub with warm water. He set Stark down in it, gratified by the hiss of pleasure from the other Omega. Stark was still sniffing but the body shaking sobs had stopped.

Loki could see the Omega haze taking over Stark’s mind, recognizing that Stark’s body was receiving the aftercare it needed and putting him in the right mindset to heal his instincts from the emotional damage they had received.

The jacuzzi was gigantic, more than enough room for two people, but Loki only dipped his feet in, setting them on either side of Stark so the man was cradled by his thighs. Stark’s head leaned back into Loki’s hands when Loki reached for his hair, setting one hand across his hairline and cupping water in the other to wet Stark’s hair. Despite the size of Loki’s hands this would take a great deal of time, but when it came to quality aftercare there was no rushing involved.

Loki still couldn’t believe that a so called, “important,” Alpha had abandoned a beautiful Omega to suffer because of a simple snarky comment. Abandoning an Omega caused lasting emotional and mental damage, even psychological conditions and disorders if bad enough.

It was a societal obligation to take care of Omegas as they were the strongest of the three genders, having the ability to bear offspring and suffer the pain of labor and heat. While physically Omegas varied in strength, the other Eight Realms respected the presence of mind and strength of spirit that it required to live an Omega’s life.

Loki supposed, despite himself, that he should be thanking Asgard for this pervasive attitude of theirs. It had prevented him from ever suffering in the way Stark was now. Midgard, he knew, was a bit less respectful of their Omegas, but that was mostly due to their population of Omegas being more independent and not wanting to be patronized.

Even still, it was shocking to hear how poorly Stark had been treated. The small voice in the back of Loki’s mind worried about how he would likely be captured if he remained in Avengers Tower longer, but his instincts pushed the thought away, prioritizing a fellow Omega in distress.

Loki scented the air, smiling at the noted decrease in distress pheromones emanating from Stark. Shampoo was easily accessible, and he picked up the multiple bottles, dangling them in front of Stark’s eyes until the Midgardian lifted a hand from the water and touched the one in the middle.

Loki read the label. “Very Berry Wash.” He chuckled. Midgardians had the oddest brand names.

Nevertheless, the scent was pleasing to Loki’s nose. There were notes of multiple berries within it, but none were overpowering and made you feel as though you were eating the fruit as you smelt it, which Loki had experienced in Midgardian perfume shops one too many times.

There was also a hint of vanilla, giving the whole combination a soft, sweet smell, befitting of an Omega needing comfort.

Stark’s hair was horrendously tangled, part from however the Alpha had treated it and part from Stark ripping at it himself in his distress. Loki made sure to modulate his strength and remain gentle, smoothing the lather into the knots without pulling on them.

When Stark’s hair was covered Loki gently put a hand on his neck to encourage him to dunk himself, but Stark’s entire body stiffened, a note of distress returning to his scent.

Loki withdrew his hand at once, stroking along Stark’s shoulders instead. He resorted to the same method he had used to wet Stark’s hair, squeezing little hanks of hair to make sure the shampoo was gone from them.

He then lathered it up again, making sure to massage deep into Stark’s scalp this time. A small sound petered out over the echoic bathing chamber. Loki listened closer and over the splash of the water he heard it again, a little louder this time but still quiet, almost subdued. It hurt his heart to realize that this was Stark’s purr. Quiet, satiated instead of proud or happy, just the most basic of his needs being met. He was ok, not great.

Loki’s hindbrain rebelled once more at the thought. Omegas deserved to be happy, to be cared from during heat as it was a taxing process, a bit like a sickness or a difficult athletic event. They should feel accomplished and pleased after, not just fine. Nevertheless, the sound was still pleasant, coming from low in Stark’s chest, vibrating his body just a little.

Loki stroked a hand over the back of Stark’s neck, soaping over his scent glands. Stark hummed, sensing the _safety, care, healing_ from the other Omega and allowed his purr to get a little louder. Loki felt an answering purr rumble up in his own chest and it was then that he realized that his was also a bit quiet, matching Stark’s so as not to make him feel overwhelmed. It was a surprising sign from his instincts. Although he expected the protective attitude towards Stark, his instincts were rarely so fine tuned. Loki had discovered, to his resentment, that this was a result of his Jotun nature, as Jotuns had bodies built for vibrant emotion, their nerves raised on the top of their skin, decorating them from head to toe.

The tangles hadn’t disappeared from Stark’s hair, but it was a bit freer and definitely cleaner. Loki grabbed two large handfuls and shaped the soapy locks into two limp ponytails. Stark felt what he was doing and chuckled. It was the first happy vocalization Loki had heard from him.

Loki patted the middle of Stark’s head and dubbed him relaxed enough to hear a few spoken words.

“Pretty Omega.” Stark’s purr changed just a little in frequency, happier. “Good Omega. You did very well. Feel calm now. Go limp and soft. I will take care of you.”

Stark pushed his head back into Loki’s hands and purred louder. He was about a decibel lower than a standard purr, but it was better than before.

Loki stroked his head and began to wash the second helping of lather out. The conditioner went much the same, Loki creating a thin toothed comb out of magic to clear Stark’s hair of tangles.

When it was wet, cowlicky, and smooth, Loki covered a sponge with body soap. He cleaned the parts of Stark he could reach then handed the sponge to the man himself, who did the rest of his body. Comfort and aftercare or not, Loki recognized he was not Stark’s heat partner and had no right to touch him where he didn’t want to be touched.

With Stark bundled in a fluffy towel that swallowed him and seated on a wooden bench in the antechamber of the bathroom, Loki grabbed a smaller, no less fluffy towel, and scrunched Stark’s hair until it stuck up all over the place.

All this time Stark nuzzled into the infrequent touches, still purring. He hadn’t come up from Omega haze. His mind was caught up in healing what the Alpha hurt and treasuring the scent of fellow Omega, too out of it to again identify Loki’s specific scent.

Loki hefted the fluffy tube of Midgardian into his arms and carted him back to the bed, now covered in soft things and new sheets. He dumped the Omega in the center, bouncing him on the mattress and startling a laugh out of him.

Loki regarded Stark’s eyes. They were still hazy, but clearer than before. By Loki’s calculations he had just enough time to give Stark some food and more skin contact before Stark realized who had been taking care of him.

Loki’s own mind was becoming less addled, rationality taking over Omega instincts to care. He had done about the exact opposite of what he had planned when he first arrived in Avengers Tower. He had helped an enemy, made use of his facilities, and coated Stark’s rooms in his scent. There were contingency plans to be made, defensive moves to be considered. But later.

Loki climbed into the pile of pillows with Stark, purposely sinking into his instincts and letting his scent freely flow from his glands. During aftercare, Omegas required one last period of time deep in their instincts before they would snap out of the haze completely. This was the best way to provide it

Stark sank into the scent with him as Loki ceased to be Loki-rational-adult and became Loki-fellow-Omega. Loki’s memory became hazy, but he saw his own hands reach for the chocolates on the nightstand, pressing them into Stark’s mouth, tangling their ankles together and brushing forearms. Rubbing his forehead on Stark’s, purring deep. Holding Stark’s hands, petting his hair and tucking him under Loki’s chin. After that everything faded and went black.

Loki awoke with a start, eyes snapping open. He registered his surroundings in a flash. Stark, next to him but no longer plastered to his side, still asleep. His own naked body, the texture of the bed beneath him. The sound of footsteps that had woken him. They approached Stark’s bedroom door.

Loki barely had enough time to conjure himself underwear before the door burst open and a loud voice shouted into the room, waking Stark.

**Author's Note:**

> Have fun reading friends, this is only my second foray into ABO so I hope it's alright. Frostiron ftw.


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